KUALA LUMPUR: The Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry is looking into claims that the country's honey market is made up of over 90 per cent counterfeit products.
Its minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said he had instructed the ministry's enforcement division to look into to the issue.
"I have instructed the ministry's enforcement division to obtain further information (on the claims) from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)," he briefly said when contacted, today.
Armizan was responding to a report earlier today where Dr Mohd Zulkifli Mustafa, a senior lecturer at USM School of Medical Sciences' Department of Neurosciences claimed that 90 per cent of the country's honey market– which includes stingless bee honey– is now made up of counterfeit products.
He also said counterfeit honey poses a huge threat and challenge to the industry.
He added that to identify genuine honey, which has advantages and benefits in terms of content, efficacy, and quality, laboratory tests are required.